Re: [Assam] Identifying Assam's problems

[Roy, Santanu]

Dear Ram-da:   I am rather skeptical of the idea of having a enumeration of “Assam’s problems”. Because it is not clear what such a list is supposed to mean. I guess we can include anything that has an adverse consequence on the economy, the existing society, the welfare of the existing population or in fact, on anything we happen to like - as being a problem. An even more liberal list would include anything that bothers us.   Mosquitoes in Assam bother me. In fact, they bother me a lot – hell of a lot more than Bangladeshis. And they cause more deaths. Are mosquitoes a problem? Shall we include them in the list? What would it mean?   Regarding “Bangladeshis!” - I think an unnaturally high rate of migration of population to Assam in the last century has caused severe problems for the ecology of the state, degradation of natural resources such as land, forests, has led to depletion of common property and state owned assets and has threatened the existing cultural assets (such as language, social norms) of the indigenous people. On the other hand, it has also contributed positively to raw economic growth in the agricultural sector and may provide the essential stimulus for attracting industry through cheap labor if proper infrastructure is available some day. However, I think, by most social criteria, one can say that on balance, the adverse effects are dominant.     But does that make it a problem or not? I think any answer of the form of yes or no is likely to be useless – reduce it to the level of the mosquitoes.   Regards,   Santanu.     From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ram Sarangapani Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 2:18 PM To: ASSAMNET Subject: [Assam] Identifying Assam's problems   There have been a lot of discussions on this net (and in Assam) regarding the problems that Assam faces. One of the things that struck me was Santanu's query about Bangladeshi  immigrants. I am not sure where exactly he stands on that issue, but the thought occurred to me that maybe we all do not agree on what the problems are. We also seem to have some difficulty in identifying the problems.   For example, the influx problem. Some think it is a huge problem, while others don't.  Also, we have problems even if we agree that 'influx' is a problem ie. in identifying who exactly are the illegals in Assam.   So, I thought it might be of some use if we could come up with some sort of survey that would tell us what most of us think Assam's problems are. It is not exhaustive, and I am just giving a few here (as a sample). Maybe some questions are too sensitive and could be cast away. Others are just too broad - but at least it may give us some direction and tell us if we are all on the same page on most issues.   Once we can identify the major issues, then we can discuss a more meaningful manner.   Sample Survey (Answer Yes/No/Maybe) Identifying Problems for Assam   1. Is illegal immigration? 2. Is the GOA a problem for Assam? 3. Is the GOI a problem for Assam? 4. Lack of reforms in Assam? 5. Lack of reforms in India as a whole? 6. Are bandhs a problem for Assam? 7. Is the ULFA (or other insurgent groups) a problem for Assam? 8. Are attitudes of Assamese intelligentia a problem? 9. Being a part of India a problem for Assam? 10. This attitude of some Assamese to separate from India a problem for Assam? 11. Is losing the Assamese identity a problem for Assam 12. Is the Assamese work culture a problem for Assam? 13. Not getting due recognition from others in India a problem for Assam? 14. Not enough large industries or quality educational institutions in Assam a problem?   Feel free to add/delete :

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